How to drop the weight

Dropping weight in her own fun, fearless, fabulous way

Fashion designer Masaba’s edgy designs have seen desi and pardesi celebs slipping into her ensembles, both on and off the red carpet and silver screen. At 24, she was the youngest creative designer at Satya Paul, and her work has never been limited to clothes, collaborating with ITC Fiama Di Wills for bath products, Chetan Bhagat for a line of accessories for a novel, and now with Titan Raga for a timepiece collection.

But her latest achievement is her weight loss. “It has taken me a year to reach my present ‘status’ on the weighing scale. Can you beat it, I had piled on 10 kilos after I got married (to film producer Madhu Mantena) two years ago!” she says, gesticulating dramatically.

Taking stock

“That garlic cheese dip from Domino’s is a killer. You know, I was simply on an over-indulgent spree during our courtship, marriage, and in the delirious days that followed. We were wining and dining, catching up with friends and family over lavish lunches and dinners; then there was a multitude of Chinese takeaways... It had to show up somewhere. Well, it did, on the weighing scale,” says Masaba.

“Then I realised there was no point whining. It was a self-created situation. Now, I look at my pictures clicked over the last couple of years and feel I look as if I am ready to explode. My body structure ensures that if I do not watch what I eat, my weight tends to spiral crazily out of control,” she says. Dealing with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) also never helped in shrugging off the weight. She also finds that fruits foster acidity in her system, so she can only nibble on a few berries now and then.

Now, now...

With long work hours and travel dotting her calendar, it is tough to ensure a watertight eating schedule. She is working out the details for the launch of three new stores in Hyderabad, Pune and Delhi. But, “When I am in town, I watch what I eat,” says Masaba.

“I work out five days a week with my personal trainer, who comes home and gets me cracking on my fitness routine. It is a gruelling mix of outdoor strength training and cardio, one hour a day. On weekends, I usually go for a swim. No crash diets work. I have tried everything, believe me. Nothing succeeds like home food. You know, all these fancy, detailed diets work only if you are sitting at home doing nothing. If you are working, where is the time to whip up food again and again?”

She’s given up sugar and eating after 7 pm. If she’s hungry in between meals, during the course of the day, she’ll snack on chopped carrots and cucumbers or nuts. “I have 3-4 litres of water every day. You know, more often than not, you are feeling thirsty when you feel like munching. But the only way to go, is: ‘Zip it, because when you go out, you do have that one odd chip or a tiny starter’.” She doesn’t socialise as actively as she used to, and the discipline has paid off: she’s dropped all the weight she put on, plus a few more kilos.

Wise ways

Masaba speaks about how for women, weight is not just a factor of what we eat or how much we work out. “Our hormonal twists and age are constantly at play as well. So don’t stand on the weighing scale every morning and suffer anxiety when you see that number flash. I used to do that and then be depressed the whole day. Limit taking your weight to once a week,” she says. Weight aside, “Keep doing good work and everything else will fall into place,” she says in her signature mince-no-words style, with her brilliant smile.

Cotton seed halwa

A storytelling walk through the town of Karaikal led the writer to stumble upon an unusual delicacy — paruthi halwa or cotton seed halwa. A tantalising aroma of ghee, coconut and roasted nuts wafts in the air. Here, a smiling bhaiya tells us that the scent is from the mound of coal-black halwa he is selling. While I’ve tasted many types of halwa, this is a first for me. Called paruthi halwa, it is made from cotton seed and I’m intrigued. The vendor serves us a scoop of the warm sweet, laden with cashews and grated coconut.

Jack of all fruits and king of Tumakuru

A single jackfruit tree will fetch ₹10 lakh for a farmer in Karnataka

Forty-year-old S.S. Paramesha of Chelur village in Karnataka’s Tumakuru district is proud that his jackfruit tree “has made it big.” Planted 35 years ago by his father S.K. Siddappa, it produces a unique variety of jackfruit, with deep, coppery red flakes that are not only tasty but also have high nutritive value. Now it turns out it also has a high market value.

“All of us knew that it was a unique variety as there was a great demand for the fruits from this tree from all our friends and relatives. But we always gave them away as gifts. We never sold a single one,” recalls Paramesha. But now the farmer is set earn ₹10 lakh from this tree over the next one year.

Since Paramesha does not have the wherewithal to multiply this variety, the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with him under which its scientists will multiply it through grafting. IIHR will not only sell these saplings under its banner but will also provide 75% of the proceeds to the farmer. It has also nominated Paramesha as “the custodian of genetic diversity” for this particular variety, and named it ‘Siddu’ after his father.

According to IIHR Director M.R. Dinesh, the institute has already received an order for 10,000 saplings, and the formal sales will commence in two months. Paramesha stands to earn over ₹10 lakh from the sales of these 10,000 saplings. According to Karunakaran, head of IIHR’s Tumakuru-based Central Horticultural Experimental Station (CHES) and the scientist who identified this unique tree, the biggest advantage of this variety is that it yields very small fruits with an average weight of 2.44 kg, as against the 10-20 kg of normal varieties. “The main problem with normal jackfruit varieties is that the fruit is difficult to carry owing to its weight. But it is easy to carry ‘Siddu’ as it is lighter,” he says.

While the health benefits of ‘Siddu’ jackfruit are still being analysed, the bio-chemical analysis has revealed that it has high lycopin content of 2 mg per 100 gm of pulp, as against 0.2 mg in normal varieties. It is also rich in anti-oxidants, the scientist points out.

Make the best impression

Face-to-face interviews are a good opportunity to prove that you are the rightfit for the job. Every young prospect would be called for a face-to-face interview at some point in his/her career. This is definitely thrilling news, especially when it is the first interview. However, here’s the catch: you should be well prepared, say the right things and avoid the wrong mentions to be able to eventually land the job.

Appearing at an interview can prove to be a daunting experience for first-timers. Being too excited and nervous at the same time, they may end up saying things out of context and not saying things that matter most.

So, here are a few do’s and don’ts to help you prepare better for your first face-to-face interview.

Do’s

Be flexible: When you are answering a question related to job responsibilities or a possible place of employment and the interviewer tends to harp on the same, you need to stress your willingness to be mobile. It will demonstrate that you have an ability to adjust with any environment and take challenges.

Demonstrate your learning: When asked about particular cases or issues, explain in detail about your internship experiences. Use the conversation and divulge more details about yourself. It is not wrong to seem more elaborate, so that the interviewer can gauge your potential and develop a better understanding about your competencies.

Showcase your knowledge: Hiring managers like to test the candidates’ knowledge about the organisation they have applied for. Make sure to check their official website and make a concerted attempt to know about the company’s business operations prior to the interview.

Access their official brand page on social media to find out basic company information and latest updates. This will show the interviewer that you take the interview seriously.

Ask how you can succeed in the job: For interviewers, the best thing during a face-to-face interview is to hear interesting questions from the candidates. Do your research well. Talk to employees in the company about the particular role on offer ensuring that you have meaningful queries at the end of the interview session. This will prove that you are keenly interested in knowing the company better.

Don’ts

Go overboard: Hiring managers are looking for passionate employees who are willing to dedicate themselves to a particular job role. They are not interested in someone who desperately wants to land the job. Answer questions succinctly and do not exaggerate or deviate. Avoid extreme openness and flexibility to adapt or else the interviewer might see you as an over anxious or incompetent candidate.

Make personal comments: Avoid praising the interviewer’s physical appearance, referring to other known employees (unless specifically asked for), asking personal questions, gossiping, and making sensational or sexist comments. These are likely to be viewed as highly irrelevant talk in a job interview and thus may lead to your being judged as being unprofessional.

Be judgmental: Refrain from making caustic or evaluative statements about people, processes, or technology in the companies that you have interned with or had worked at. Do not reveal your biases to the interviewer.

Badmouth: Do not ever badmouth your last boss or someone else in your internship or past companies. It is unethical and will send a negative signal that you may be difficult to manage.

Being invited to a face-to-face personal interview is in itself a success, but it might be only the first step of a long hiring process. The main objective of attending an interview is to send signals of assurance to your future employer that you are the right talent they have been looking for.

Ensure that your CV does not lie and avoid exaggerating experiences. Demonstrate that you have the right balance of skills, attitude, and knowledge required for the job.

Good luck with your job interview!